What is the prostration of recitation? What is the sujud tilawa in islam? What are the 4 types of prostrations? How is prostration performed?
The prostration, which a person who reads or listens to one of the verses of prostration mentioned in fourteen places in the Qur’an, must do is called the “prostration of recitation (sajda al-tilāwah)”. It is reported that the Prophet prostrated when he recited a chapter containing a verse of prostration, and the companions prostrated with him.
1) Evidence on which the Prostration of Recitation is Based
Allah Almighty says: “What then is the matter with them, that they believe not? And when the Qur’an is read to them, they fall not prostrate, but on the contrary, the Unbelievers reject (it).”[1] One is only blamed for not fulfilling a wājib act. Since this prostration is a prostration performed in prayer it becomes wājib like the regular prostrations of prayer. Abdullah Ibn ʿUmar (ra) said, “The Prophet (saw) used to recite the verse of prostration when we were with him, then prostrate, and we would prostrate with him. So much so that some of us could not find a place to put their forehead for prostration because of the rush!”[2]
The Prophet recited the chapter al-Najm (53) in Mecca in the community of the polytheists and prostrated to Allah when he recited the 19th and 20th verses. Since the idols named Lāt, ʿUzza’, and Manāt are mentioned in these verses, the polytheists also prostrated at this point, thus creating a unity of action based on different intentions between the believers and the polytheists. This incident is called in history the Incident of Gharānīq. Meanwhile, ʿUmayya ibn Khalaf did not prostrate, took a handful of stones or earth and raised it to his face, and said, “This is sufficient for me.” It is narrated that he was later killed as a non-believer.[3] The verse of prostration in chapter al-Najm is the 72nd verse, which is the last verse of the chapter. Therefore, it is also possible that the Prophet skipped to the 72nd verse immediately after reading the verses in which the names of the idols were mentioned. It would be appropriate to understand Zayd ibn Thābit (ra)’s followıng statement in this context, “I recited the chapter al-Najm before the Prophet, yet he did not perform a prostration”[4] during the reading of the 19th and 20th verses.
According to the narration from Abu Hurayra, the Prophet (saw) said, “When the son of Adam recites the verse of prostration and then falls down in prostration, the Satan goes into seclusion and weeps and says, ‘Woe unto me, the son of Adam was commanded to prostrate, and he prostrated and Paradise was permitted to him and I was commanded to prostrate, but I refused and I am doomed to Hell.’”[5]
Based on the above evidence, the Ḥanafis said that the prostration of tilāwah is wājib (compulsory). According to the other three schools, the prostration of tilāwah is sunnah. The evidence of the majority is the hadith narrated by Zayd ibn Thabit (ra), “I recited the chapter al-Najm before the Prophet, yet he did not perform a prostration.”[6] and the narration that when ʿUmar (ra) recited the verse of prostration in the chapter of Nahl on the second Friday, he left the congregation free to prostrate or not. He said: “Whoever prostrates gains rewards, but there is no sin on those who do not prostrate.” ʿUmar (ra) did not prostrate himself at this point. There is the following addition in the narration of Abdullah ibn ʿUmar (r. anhuma), “Allah has not made the prostration of recitation compulsory but if we wish we can do it.”[7]
2) The Eeason and the Execution of the Prostration of Recitation
When the fourteen verses of prostration are examined carefully, we see that some of these verses speak about how the polytheists did not obey Allah and avoided prostrating. In some others, believers/addressees of the verses are commanded to prostrate directly. Accordingly, a person who recites or hears the verses of prostration performs prostration both in order to comply with Allah’s command and to react to the disobedience of the polytheists. Even if those who follow the imam do not hear the verse of prostration, they must prostrate with the imam.
The way to perform the prostration of recitation is as follows:
The person who will perform this prostration must be in the state of wuḍūʿ, clean his or her body and clothes, and cover his or her awrah. He or she turns to the qibla with the intention to perform the prostration of recitation, and without raising the hands, goes down to the prostration by saying “Allāhu akbar”. After saying “subḥāna rabbiya’l-ʿala (Glory is to my Lord, the Most High)” three times, he or she gets up from prostration by saying “Allāhu akbar” again. The essential pillar (rukn) of this single prostration is to put the face down on the ground in order to glorify Allah. However, in the event that the verse of prostration coincides with the end of the recitation in prayer, the rukūʿ of the prayer or the head gestures of those who cannot perform prostration due to an excuse is accepted in place of the prostration of recitation.
It is mustaḥab to go down to prostration from a standing position, and to stand up after performing the prostration, by saying “ghufranaka rabbanā wa ilayka’l-maṣīr (We seek Your forgiveness, our Lord, and to You is the end of all journeys.)”. The takbīrs uttered while going down to the prostration for recitation and while standing up are also mustaḥab. According to the Ḥanafis, the prostration itself is wājib.[8]
3) Issues Related to the Prostration of Recitation:
According to the Ḥanafis, the timing of the prostration to be performed due to the prostration verse read outside of the prayer is unlimited, and it can be done any time in the future. However, it is makrūḥ to delay it without an excuse. According to Abu Yusuf, outside the prayer, this prostration must be done immediately after the recitation. The one who reads the Qur’an must be human, awake, and sane. Therefore, it does not change the provision even if the reciter is in the state of ceremonial impurity (janābah), menstruating or having post-partum bleeding, an unbeliever, or a child at the age of discernment, or drunk. This is because their recitation is acknowledged as a valid reading. A person in the state of ceremonial impurity (janābah) or drunk, who is a Muslim, is also obliged to prostrate because of a verse of prostration that is read or heard. Yet, he has to perform the prostration when he is clean and sober.
To be responsible for the prostration of recitation, first of all, one must know that the verse listened to is a verse of prostration. Accordingly, a person who does not know that there is a verse of prostration among the verses he listens to does not have to prostrate. Again, if the verse of prostration is heard while passing by, for instance, it is heard while l the recitation of the Qur’an is on an instrument such as tape, radio, or television, and the listener does not know that it is a verse of prostration, it would not be appropriate to expect him or her to prostrate as well. However, if the reciter warns the listeners about this, or if the person who reads or watches the translation of the Qur’an understands that there is a verse of prostration, she or he must prostrate. If the verse of prostration is heard from a child under the age of discernment (under the age of seven), according to the soundest view, the prostration of recitation is not compulsory. This is because, for a valid recitation, the reader must have the ability of discernment.
However, it is not required for menstruating women or women with postpartum bleeding to perform the prostration of recitation for neither the recitation nor for listening to a verse of prostration since she is not obliged to pray in such a state.
For a prostration verse to be recited during the prayer, the prostration of recitation becomes obligatory immediately. This is because it has become a part of the ritual prayer, and it cannot be made up outside the prayer.
If the verse of prostration is recited while standing up during the ritual prayer, if no more than three verses are recited after the recitation of the prostration verse, the prostration for recitation will also be fulfilled by the regular bowing or prostrating for the prayer. It does not change the result whether the intention is made to prostrate for recitation or not. However, if more than three verses are to be recited, it is necessary to immediately bow down or prostrate independently of the order of the ritual prayer because of the recitation of the prostration verse. It is more virtuous to prostrate than to bow down. In this case, the responsibility of performing a prostration of recitation does not drop from the person by performing the regular bowing and prostrations of the ritual prayer.
The person who recites the verse of prostration in the prayer immediately goes down to the prostration of tilāwah by saying “Allāhu akbar”, regardless of the number of verses recited afterward. It is sufficient for him or her to prostrate with the intention of performing a prostration of recitation. After that, he or she gets up again, reads a few more verses, and then goes down to the regular rukūʿ and the prostrations of the ritual prayer. In other words, he or she continues to perform his or her prayer. If the surah recited is completed when going down for the prostration of recitation, the worshipper recites a few more verses from another surah after standing up. This is because it is makrūḥ to bow down and prostrate without again reciting a few more Qur’anic verses after getting up from the prostration of recitation.
If it is outside the ritual prayer, prostration for recitation cannot be performed by bowing alone. This is because the glorification of Allah cannot be done by only bowing down except through the ritual prayer.
If the verse of prostration is recited in more than one place in the ritual prayer, one prostration of recitation is sufficient according to the sound opinion. This is because the place where the ritual prayer is completed is considered one place. Repeating the verse of prostration in separate cycles does not change the ruling. This is according to Abu Yusuf. According to Imam Muhammad, if it is recited in different cycles the place of the ritual prayer itself will be deemed to have changed, and for that reason, the prostration must be performed as many as the number of verses of prostration recited.
When the imam recites the verse of prostration and goes down to prostration, if the congregation goes down to bowing or prostration assuming that the imam has gone down to regular bowing and prostration, their prayers will not be invalidated by this. But if they do one more prostration, their prayer will be considered invalid.
It is makrūḥ for the imam to recite the verse of prostration on Friday and Eid prayers and in the ritual prayers that are performed silently. The reason for this is that it can cause confusion for the congregation that may make mistakes. However, if the prostration verse coincides with the end of the recitation, this problem will be eliminated. In such a case, the imam should not intend the rukūʿ of the ritual prayer and the prostration of recitation.
If a person recites the verse of prostration while performing a ritual prayer while bowing, prostrating, and sitting, or reciting the verse of prostration while following an imam, neither himself nor the other congregation following the imam is required to perform the prostration of tilāwah. This is because the worshippers who are praying are prohibited from carrying out recitation in these places of their ritual prayer and for that reason any of their recitations will be considered invalid. However, it becomes necessary to perform a prostration of recitation to those who hear this recitation from outside the ritual prayer.
It is mustaḥab to recite the verse of prostration audibly if the listeners are prepared for prostration, and silently if they are not. There is compassion for the congregation in this act.
It is makrūḥ to recite a surah and skip the verse of prostration existing in that surah. There is no reprehensibility in reciting only the verse of prostration and not reciting the other verses. However, it is mustaḥab to recite one or more verses together with the verse of prostration. When the verse of prostration is recited, if it is not possible to prostrate immediately, it is mustaḥab for the reader and the listener to say, “samiʿnā wa aṭaʿnā, ghufranaka rabbanā wa ilayka’l-maṣīr” (We hear, and we obey: we seek Your forgiveness, our Lord, and to You is the end of all journeys.).
4) Repeating the Verse of Prostration
If the same verse of prostration is repeated more than once in an assembly, one prostration of recitation is sufficient. It is better to perform the prostration after the first recitation. According to another view, it is more appropriate to leave this prostration at the end of the recitations.
However, if the same prostration verse is repeated in separate places and assemblies, the prostration must be repeated.
A person who recites several Qur’anic verses in which there are several prostrations must perform a separate prostration of the recitation for each verse, whether the assembly is one or separate.
The unity of the assembly in the open field and on the road changes by walking three steps, that is, by going from one place to another. A change of place does not occur by moving from one corner to another in the hall of a house or by changing places in a large mosque. However, although the reader is in the same place, if the listener changes the place, such as going out of the mosque to perform ablution, the requirement of performing the prostration is reiterated for him.[9]
5) Places of the Verses of Prostration
According to Ḥanafis, the chapters with prostration verses and their verse numbers in fourteen places in the Qur’an are as follows: al-A’raf, 7: 206; al-Ra’d, 13: 15; al-Naḥl; 16: 50; al-Iṣra, 17: 109; Maryam, 19: 58; al-Hajj, 22: 18; Furqān, 25: 60; al-Naml, 27: 25; al-Sajda, 32: 15; Ṣād, 38: 25; Fussilat, 41: 38; al-Najm, 53: 62; al-Inshiqāq, 84: 21 and al-Alaq, 96: 19
According to the Shafiʿi and the Ḥanbalis, the number is also fourteen. However, while they consider the prostration in the chapter of Ṣād as “prostration of gratitude”, they accept the existence of two verses of prostration in the chapter al-Hajj. According to the Malikis, the number is eleven. They do not consider the verses in the chapters of al-Najm, al-Inshiqāq, and al-Alaq as verses of prostration.[10]
It is narrated that Allah will suffice for the worldly and otherworldly desires, troubles, and sorrows of a person who reads these fourteen prostration verses in one assembly and makes either one prostration as he recites each one of them, or does fourteen prostrations altogether after reciting all of them.
6) Situations that Invalidate the Prostration of Recitation
Anything that invalidates the prayer also invalidates the prostration for recitation. Such as, according to the Ḥanafis, nullifying the state of wuḍūʾ before getting up from the prostration of recitation, talking, or laughing loudly. However, laughing loudly during this prostration does not invalidate the state of wuḍūʾ, and being in line with women does not affect this prostration.
[1] Al-Inshiqāq, 84: 20-22.[2] Al-Bukhari, Sujūd, 8, 9, 12.[3] Al-Bukhari, Sujūd, 1, 4, 5.[4] Al-Bukhari, Sujūd, 6.[5] Muslim, Imān, 133.[6] See al-Bukhari, Sujūd, 6; Muslim, Masājid, 106; al-Tirmidhī, Jumʿa, 52; al-Nasā’ī, Iftitāḥ, 50; al-Shawkanī, ibid, III, 101.[7] Al-Bukhari, Sujūd, 10; al-Shawkanī, ibid, III, 102.[8] See al-Kāsānī, ibid, I, 179-195; Ibn al-Humām, ibid, I, 380-392; Ibn Abidīn, ibid, I, 715-730; al-Maydanī, ibid, I, 103-105; Ibn Qudāmah, ibid, I, 616-627; al-Shirbinī, Mughni al-Muḥtāj, Egypt, n.d., I, 214 ff.; al-Zuhaylī, ibid, II, 109 ff.[9] Ibn Abidīn, ibid, I, 726-728; al-Shurunbulālī, ibid, 84 ff.[10] See al-Maydanī, ibid, I, 103; al-Shirbinī, ibid, I, 214 ff.; al-Zuhaylī, ibid, II, 120, 121.
Source: Basic Islamic Principles (ilmiḥal) According to the Four Sunni Schools With Evidence From The Sources of Islamic Law, Prof. Hamdi Döndüren, Erkam Publications